The Mike Grella ordeal continues to worsen for the American forward. Swindon Town manager Paul Hart has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” to prevent the club from owing him any further wages for his time on loan.

But Hart, who was disgusted with the attitude of the player he had handed five starts from seven games since being named manager in early March, will do all he can to ensure Town do not pay him any more wages.

“Mike Grella came to me to ask to leave Swindon, when we are involved in a relegation fight,” he said. “After deliberation I acceded to his request and it is good riddance to bad rubbish.

“As far as I am concerned we are not paying him and as long as I am here I will fight tooth and nail to make sure this remains the case.

“He has gone and I am only interested in players who want to fight for Swindon.”

This further extends my belief that Grella will not be returning to Leeds this summer. His reputation is rather sullied. He might be able to find himself a job in League One or League Two, but if I were Grella I’d be ready to start making some trial arrangements back in MLS.

I’m not doing a full OT Report, but I’ll note that Anton Peterlin did get a rare start for Plymouth Argyle in a 1-0 win over Dagenham & Redbridge. Argyle has already clinched relegation and Peterlin’s contract is up this summmer, so I am guessing that he’s another player that might be looking to return stateside this summer. Also, Preston Zimmerman scored another goal for Mainz II, his sixth of the season. He’s having a nice season.

Two notes on some now-former site subjects. You might recall JC Banks, the former Wisconsin-Green Bay midfielder who had spent some time with Hammarby in Sweden. He wound up signing with the Rochester Rhinos here (3rd division USL-Pro), where he scored on Saturday. Meanwhile, Benny Feilhaber made his debut with the New England Revolution, going 90 minutes and collecting an assist in the 12th minute to help defeat Sporting Kansas City. As a Sporting fan, boo to that.

Work was a busy one today then I got caught up watching the Sugar Bowl once I finally got home (I feel dirty for cheering for OSU, but luckily the Big Ten slump ended), but here are some news and links for Tuesday.

Only two Americans in action today as Fulham defeated West Brom, 3-0, and picked up some much needed three points. They jumped up from 18th place to 13th after the win. Clint Dempsey scored their second goal of the game with a header off a corner kick and Eddie Johnson came on for Dempsey in the last three minutes of the game. Highlights of all the goals can be found here. One last thing on the game, how can West Brom leave Brede Hangeland unmarked on a corner kick? He is like eight feet tall.

We don’t follow the Americans south of the border as closely as those in Europe, but wanted to give a little update on Jonathan Bornstein as the Mexican Clausura begins this weekend. It is being reported as not serious, but Bornstein will miss the opener with a thigh injury. Tigres manager Ricardo Ferretti expects him to be ready next week.

The Shin Guardian’s guest columnist/contributor/blogger/friend Preston Petri takes a look at the “murky” goalkeeper situation at Aston Villa. It will be interesting to see who is the number one goalkeeper for Villa in 2011-12. Will it be Big Brad, Little Brad or someone else (Alan McGregor?)?

This next month could also be an interesting one for Jonathan Spector’s future. Spector started this season on the side of a milk carton before emerging as a two-goal nightmare for Manchester United. After dabbling a bit in the midfield, he has sort of disappeared again. And now, West Ham are closing in on midfielder Steve Sidwell. While it was rumored that Spector rejected a move to German side Cologne, I wonder if he will be heading out the door during the current transfer window or continuing to not appear on West Ham’s roster as they attempt to fight off relegation.

According to Steve Goff, the US-Argentina friendly that has been rumored to be taking place in March could be finalizing its location soon (next week?). And it now sounds like Seattle, the early front runner, is completely out of the picture. I wonder where this game will take place?

And finally, Yanks Abroad brings us three different interviews/stories.